


Termination Project

by readwritebeawesome



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Evil Scientists - Freeform, Tests, experiment au, mutations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2016-07-19
Packaged: 2018-07-11 11:36:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 17,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7048105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/readwritebeawesome/pseuds/readwritebeawesome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They are not people--they are animals, they are experiments. Their only purpose is to prove their worth or be eliminated. They are the future of mankind.</p><p>And they're going to fight back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

In Laboratory A4-13, doctors busied themselves with the patient. The woman giving birth screamed and howled. The doctors said nothing to her, only focused on getting her child out alive. The chemicals they had added to the child to help strengthen it made the birthing process even more painful and fatal, but they were vital to ensure the child would be able to survive and develop the new genes put into it.

For this child they had chosen the genes of a crab. The exoskeleton could prove to be useful in human developing. And while it wasn’t likely the child would be able to live in water, the scientists said that it would only be deemed unnecessary after its Filter Test.

The doctors ignored the woman’s screaming and crying as the child came out slowly. They worked very carefully, making sure the child wouldn’t come to harm during the birth. The scientists had a hard enough time getting “willing” women as it was. They would be furious if the child died and they would have to restart.

Then the child’s wailing accompanied its mother’s and the doctors all breathed a sigh of relief. They took the child and wrapped it in a towel. It was a boy, with black eyes like a crab, and hard shell-like skin, which was clearly an exoskeleton, with a reddish hue. He had no fingernails, and his fingers were slightly hooked, like claws. The boy also had some black hair, just like his mother. But the doctor’s didn’t pay attention to his mother, and her life readings began to die down. But the doctors ignored her and cleaned the child.

By the time the mother had become eternally quiet the child was ready and sleeping. One doctor turned on his walkie-talkie. “Finished. Alive and healthy,” he said. There came the sound of footsteps and the door opened. Professor Peixes stood at the door. She had power over everyone in the building except for her husband: the man in charge. She had even donated the first experiment: a child combined with fish genes. It had been so successful that they made another one.

The doctors handed the newborn child to Professor Peixes and she left with him. She took him down blank white hallways; past windows showing scientists and doctors at work. Her high heels clunk-clopped loudly on the hard floor.

She arrived at a lab door with a blank plaque above it. She opened the door and the nurse in the room stood up quickly and bowed. Professor Peixes gave him a scrutinizing glare before handing the baby boy to him.

“This is Experiment #11. Its name is Karkat. You are to care for it for four years. Do not let it die, or you will face the consequences. Is that clear?” The nurse nodded and Professor Peixes left the room, slamming the door behind her.

2 MONTHS LATER:

Another child was born: the twelfth and last of the Experiments. They would see which ones were best for the human race, and which ones were unnecessary and would be eliminated. The newborn child was a girl mixed with cat genes. She had brown hair and olive green eyes. Her teeth were sharp like a cat’s, and she had small claws. She also had a thin layer of brown fur covering her skin, except for the palms of her hands and the bottoms of her feet. She also had a small tail.

She was given to Professor Peixes; who took her to another lab room. The nurse in there bowed when she entered. Professor Peixes handed her the Experiment.

“This is Experiment #12. Its name is Nepeta. You are to care for it for four years. Do not let it die, or you will face the consequences. Is that clear?” The nurse nodded and bowed. Professor Peixes left the room, slamming the door.

2 MINUTES LATER:

Professor Peixes stood before her husband. He was a tall, hulking man. He wore all green; except for a gold fake tooth and a gold peg leg. A large gun rested on the wall behind him. He would never use it on Professor Peixes, but she was still wary of it. He could have sudden explosive bad moods and he could always make a mistake. And he didn’t much care for human lives. Professor Peixes knew for a fact that as a boy he had murdered his twin sister. He had told her himself when she had first met him.

“The final Experiment has been born successfully. In thirteen years we shall have all the necessary Experiments at the proper age and all the unnecessary exterminated,” Professor Peixes reported, her voice calm and emotionless.

“Good. Then we can kill the imperfect humans.”

“Yes dear.”


	2. 4 years later

Experiment #9 stood up nervously. He stretched and followed his nurse out of his cell. It was the day he would get his own private cell. He would no longer have Tim to look after him. He knew he was supposed to be ready for it, but he was still sad. Tim was kind to him and would tell him stories to help him go to sleep. And he used to sing Japanese lullabies, so he could understand a bit of the language.

They approached a door with a plaque that read “Experiment #9: Tavros”. Tim patted Tavros’s shoulder and pushed him to the cell. Tavros took a deep breath and walked in. The cell looked like the one he’d lived in with Tim. But there wasn’t an office in one corner, and there was only one bed. Tavros sat on the bed and waited to be summoned.

 

Experiment #8 was not enjoying herself. Vriska was combined with spider genes. Her skin was covered in a fine lair of fur that let her climb many different surfaces. Her left eye had eight pupils and sharp fangs protruded from her mouth. Glands in her throat let her spit webs. She was cunning and crafty, and enjoyed having plenty of independence. But now she was being told she had to team up with Experiment #9.

Experiment #9 was a small boy combined with bull genes. He had furry legs and his toenails looked like they were made out of the same stuff as hooves. He had horns that stood out to the side and were rather over-sized. They made him look pretty ridiculous. And Vriska could just tell he was a wimp! The way he wouldn’t look her in the eye and instead stared at the ground and shuffled his feet showed he was afraid of her. He was probably totally terrified from being separated from his nurse. Vriska had never liked her nurse. She would always make Vriska cook her food over and over again. She’d been like a slave-driver.

“You must both cooperate,” the scientist said. “You must learn to fight in sync and bond as a team.”

“Yes Doctor Scratch,” Vriska and the small bull-boy chorused. Though Doctor Scratch was a scientist, he was also a doctor on the sidelines. Doctor Scratch nodded to the two Experiments and walked out of the room. Vriska scowled at the boy and crossed her arms in front of her.

“Um…my name’s Tavros,” he said. Vriska sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Vriska. Why are you mumbling? It’s hard to hear you when you talk like that.” Tavros blushed and stared at the ground and mumbled quietly. Vriska sighed in annoyance. “I can’t believe I have to work with such a wimp.”

“…Sorry,” Tavros said. Vriska punched his arm and he fell to the ground.

“Don’t apologize for something like that! What’s with you?!” Tavros mumbled and wrapped his arms around his legs. Vriska sighed again. She grabbed Tavros’s arms and pulled him up. “Okay then. As of today, I am going to turn you into less of a wimp. And you can’t back out of this!”

“O-okay. Um, thanks.” Tavros smiled and Vriska stared at him. _I have to admit he does look kind of cute._ She growled to herself and chased that thought out of her head.

“Let’s start by getting you to run some laps around the training room without break!”

“What?!”

“Let’s go right now!” Vriska grabbed Tavros’s arm and dragged him down the hall. She laughed as he protested and flailed his arms. _This will be more fun than I thought. At least I have a good project on my hands for awhile._

 

Karkat stared at the girl he was supposed to team up with. She was Experiment #10. She was combined with lizard genes and some bat genes. She had bat wings and her skin was covered in scales. Her eyes were red and she had a forked tongue. And her hands were clawed like a lizard’s.

“You must both cooperate,” Doctor Scratch said. “You must learn to fight in sync and bond as a team.”

“Yes Doctor Scratch,” Karkat and the girl chorused. He nodded and walked out of the room. The girl grinned at Karkat, showing off her sharp teeth.

“I’m Terezi! What’s your name?”

“Karkat.” Terezi grinned and put an arm around his shoulder.

“Nice to meet you Karkles!” Karkat sighed and rolled his eyes. _Why am I paired up with such a weirdo?_

 

Experiment #3 stood in attention. Kanaya was combined with moth genes; giving her a bony-thin structure, furry antennae and brown wings. She also, for unknown reasons, had sharp fangs and had drunk the blood of her nurse once.

Kanaya studied her new partner warily. Experiment #4 was taller than her with wavy hair that made him look even taller. He was combined with some shark genes; which gave him grey-tinged skin and gills, and some goat genes; which gave him goat eyes, goat horns and a goat beard and his legs were covered in white fur. He kept grinning, which showed off his sharp teeth.

“You must both cooperate,” Doctor Scratch said. “You must learn to fight in sync and bond as a team.”

“Yes Doctor Scratch,” Kanaya and the creepy boy chorused. Doctor Scratch leaned close to Kanaya and whispered to her.

“Please keep in mind he sometimes has violent outbursts that can be quite dangerous. A scientist will always be kept near you two in case he snaps. But please be wary, just in case.” Kanaya nodded and Doctor Scratch left the room. Kanaya turned back to Experiment #4 and saw that he was grinning at her.

“I’m Gamzee. Nice to meet you motherfucker.” He held out his hand and Kanaya shook it hesitantly.

“I’m Kanaya. Nice to meet you too.” Gamzee grinned and nodded. “Why don’t we go to the training grounds?” Gamzee grinned and nodded.

“Yeah!” Kanaya followed him down the hall. _He doesn’t seem too bad._

 

Experiment #6 smiled at her new partner. Aradia was combined with goat genes; giving her goat eyes, goat horns, a small goat beard and furry legs. She was told she was taller than the other female Experiments. She was actually rather proud of that.

Her new partner was Experiment #7. He was combined with bee genes; giving him black and yellow striped fur, antennas and rather pathetic-looking bee wings. His eyes were each a different colour; one red and one blue, though Aradia couldn’t think of a reason why.

“You must both cooperate,” Doctor Scratch said. “You must learn to fight in sync and bond as a team.”

“Yes Doctor Scratch,” Aradia and the boy chorused. Doctor Scratch nodded and left the room. Aradia smiled at Experiment #7 and held out her hand.

“Hi! I’m Aradia. Nice to meet you!” The boy smiled and shook her hand.

“Hi, I’m Thollux. Nithe to meet you too.” Aradia grinned.

“Okay! What should we do first?!”

“Well…how about we go to climbing practithe?”

“Yeah!” Aradia grabbed Sollux’s hand and dragged him down the hall. _This is great! I have a new friend!_

 

Nepeta grinned at her new partner. He was Experiment #5. He was combined with horse genes. He had the lower body of a grey horse and greasy black hair. He was also very strong with large muscles.

“You must both cooperate,” Doctor Scratch said. “You must learn to fight in sync and bond as a team.”

“Yes Doctor Scratch,” Nepeta and her partner chorused. Doctor Scratch nodded and left the room. Nepeta grinned and held out her hand.

“Hi! I’m Nepeta!”

“Hello Nepeta. I am Equius.” He looked down at her hand and hesitated. Nepeta could see him sweating.

“Aren’t mew going to shake my hand?” she asked. Equius reached forward and gently took her hand and shook it lightly. He looked relieved and let her hand go. “Nice to meet mew Equius! Can I ride on mewr back?”

“Well…alright.” Nepeta climbed up onto Equius’s back and wrapped her arms around him.

“Whee!” she said, kicking her legs. Equius smiled and started walking. _This is gonna be purrfect!_

 

Experiment #1 smiled and clasped her hands behind her back. Feferi was combined with fish genes; giving her fins on her arms and legs, webbed feet, gills, scales and fish eyes so she never had to blink. Her new partner, Experiment #2, was also combined with fish genes and looked quite a bit like her. He was a bit taller than her and had glasses.

“You must both cooperate,” Doctor Scratch said. “You must learn to fight in sync and bond as a team.”

“Yes Doctor Scratch,” Feferi and the boy chorused. Doctor Scratch nodded and walked out of the room. Feferi grinned and held out her hand.

“Hi! I’m Feferi! Nice to meet you!” The boy smiled and shook her hand.

“Hey. I’m Eridan.”

“Nice to meet you Eridan! What do you want to do first?”

“Wwell, wwhy don’t wwe go swwimming?” Eridan said. Feferi smiled and nodded.

“Yeah! Let’s go!” Feferi took Eridan’s hand and they went to the swimming pool. _Oh boy! I get a friend who’s just like me! This is great!_


	3. 6 years later

Karkat walked down the hallway to the Fitness Tests. Terezi followed next to him. Neither of them spoke a word. The Tests were always challenging and Karkat was always nervous when he went to them. He knew Terezi and all the others were too.

Eventually they came to a door with a plaque that read “ROOM #31 FITNESS TESTS.” Terezi opened the door and they walked inside. The room had six doors leading to the different Tests: MAZE, CLIMBING, SWIMMING, DODGING, HIDE AND SEEK and FIGHTING. Scientists directed Karkat to the Maze door and Terezi to the Climbing. Karkat gave Terezi an encouraging glance. She smiled to him as they were shoved through the doors.

A shock collar was put around Karkat’s neck and the door shut behind him. The entire maze was completely white. The maze was different every time he entered it. Karkat crouched in preparation. The buzzer sounded and he took off.

He stayed at a light jog the whole time and looked around for surprises. He had to get a sense for where the exit was. The floor was slippery and Karkat had trouble keeping his balance. There was always an obstacle in the Maze.

After jogging for quite awhile Karkat stopped to catch his breath at a dead end. He hated trying to run on the slippery floor. Then the shock collar beeped and an electric shock was sent through his body. He yelped and fell. A voice came out of the collar: “ Experiment #11, keep moving! ” Karkat got up and kept running. He looked around desperately for the exit. The temperature in the room began to drop and Karkat shivered.  _If I don’t get out of here soon they’ll add more obstacles! Damn it!_

He rounded a corner and saw a red door up ahead. Karkat ran as fast as he could up to it. The temperature dropped even faster and freezing cold water sprayed out of sprinklers on the walls. Karkat shielded his eyes and kept running. He shivered and slipped but kept going.  _I have to get out!_ Finally he burst through the red door into a hallway. He ran down the corner and through another door that led back into the main room.

Scientists and doctors were immediately on him, taking notes, looking at his eyes and checking heart rate and blood pressure and sticking syringes into him. Karkat gasped air into his lungs, barely able to stand up. He was lain down on a white table and tubes were attached to him. Computers beeped and whined as they processed information. Someone zapped him with a cattle prod and Karkat screamed as the electric pulse ran through his body.

“There, you should be awake now,” one scientist said. “Now get to the next Test.” Karkat rolled off the table as Terezi came out of the Climbing room. She had some scrapes on her, but didn’t look too bad. She gave Karkat a small smile, which he returned before he was shoved through the Dodging door. Karkat sighed and looked at the small cannon-like guns on the wall. _Here we go._

 

Nepeta stood next to Equius. Doctor Scratch stood in front of them. A map of the world was hanging on the wall. Doctor Scratch was telling them about the different countries and their governments.

“Experiment #12, name this country,” Doctor Scratch pointed to one of the countries.

“That’s the United States of America,” Nepeta answered.

“Experiment #5, name this country.”

“That is Australia,” Equius answered.

“Good. That concludes your lesson today.” Doctor Scratch turned to face them. “Now, sing the Project Anthem.”

“Humans have laid waste, to our world. Slowly slowly, killing it. But saviors saviors, they arose. They made us, to save the world. Each one worthy, will become the new. Human race, for the world. They will fix the, humans’ mistakes. They will make the world, a better place. But those who, are useless. They will die, for they are not needed. Only the strong, the intelligent. The cunning and obedient. Will survive, to replace. The pitiful, human race.”

“Very good. Now go back to your cells,” Doctor Scratch said. Nepeta followed Equius out of the room. Equius bent down and picked her up and put her on his horse-back so that she could ride him. Nepeta loved riding, since it made her feel taller. She smiled as they went back to the hallway where their cells were. When they got to Nepeta’s cell Equius put her down. Nepeta hugged him and turned to her door. She stopped and looked back at Equius.

“Hey Equius?” she said. “What’s outside like?”

“The outdoors is for only the successful experiments. Work hard, train hard and do more than your best and you will get to see outside,” Equius said. Nepeta knew he would answer that, since it was forbidden to say something else. But she liked to ask anyway.

“Do mew think I’ll be successful Equius?”

“Only you can determine that,” Equius said. He bent down and whispered in her ear. “I hope you-”

“Experiments! Get to your cells!” Nepeta and Equius looked up and saw a scientist frowning at them. Equius nodded and walked to his cell. Nepeta sighed and went inside hers. She sat down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. _I wonder what Equius was going to say. Purrobably that he hopes I’ll be successful. Yeah, that must be it._

 

Sollux splashed water on his face from the sink in his cell and stared in the mirror.  _I wonder why my eyeth are like thith._ He glanced at the bland white walls and sighed. He stood up and opened his closet. He spent all his time in his cell in the closet. It had been turned into a beehive with honeycomb and plenty of bees. Sollux smiled and lay down amongst them. The bees crawled over him and he smiled. He sort of seemed like their queen bee, but he wasn’t. The actual queen bee was the one that had crawled onto his nose. Sollux had named her Solfef. She rubbed herself against his nose and he lightly petted her. This was their way of saying hello.

“Experiment #7, Experiment #6; report for your Physical Test.” a voice said over the intercom. Sollux sighed and stood up. He said bye to all his bees and walked out of the room. Aradia was waiting for him and smiled to him.

“Let’s go,” she said. Sollux nodded and they held hands as they walked down the hall.

 

Gamzee was bored. He and Kanaya had no Tests for a couple hours, so they were supposed to socialize. They were in Gamzee’s cell. Kanaya was looking in the mirror and fixing her hair. The silence in the room was agonizing and Gamzee clenched his hands into fists and gnashed his teeth together. He made sure he was standing closer to the scientist at the door than Kanaya so he wouldn’t end up killing her if he snapped. Though he hadn’t killed someone in his outburst in awhile since the scientists had learned to look for signs of an outburst coming.

The scientist monitoring him now was obviously new, because he didn’t seem worried or unnerved at all. In fact, he wasn’t even looking at Gamzee. He was watching Kanaya. Gamzee could understand why; she was rather pretty. But Gamzee could tell that soon Kanaya would be the last thing on the poor scientist’s mind.

Gamzee turned himself so he was facing the scientist. He would go after the scientist first when he snapped. Hopefully he’ll have calmed down after that so he won’t attack Kanaya.

Gamzee bit his lip and felt the metallic taste of blood enter his mouth. His breathing became hitched and he clenched his hands into fists.  _If that scientist doesn’t turn around, he’ll die in a few seconds._ Gamzee gnashed his teeth together and watched as his vision slowly turned a reddish hue. He felt something snap in him and he leapt onto the scientist. He thought he heard the scientist scream and Kanaya yell at him, but he wasn’t paying attention. He clawed at the scientist until he could see the man’s blood all over the floor. He then began to lick up the blood, trying to get every last drop.

He saw Kanaya out of the corner of his vision. He could feel his insides start to boil and he tensed, ready to pounce on her. He jumped at her but she threw him so he went flying at hit the wall. Gamzee howled loudly and angrily. He glared at Kanaya and jumped at her, but someone grabbed him and pinned him down. Gamzee clawed and bit at their arm and yelled. He felt something stick into his neck, but he wasn’t paying attention.

Suddenly, his body got heavy and he felt a tired sensation go through his whole body. Gamzee sighed and relaxed his grip on the person’s arm. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

FIVE MINUTES LATER:

“Experiment #4 had another outburst,” Doctor Scratch said. Professor Peixes glared at him, though she knew it wasn’t his fault.

“Well, increase its medications again!” she snapped.

“If we increase them too much more, it will die.”

“I know that!” Professor Peixes glared at him, clenching her hands into fists. She didn’t like Doctor Scratch. He could be so infuriating. “So increase it enough that it doesn’t kill it!”

“I believe the problem is that its body keeps adapting to the medications, and thus becomes immune.”

“Oh, well if you’ve got another idea, I’d _love_ to hear it!”

“Actually, one of the scientists has created a type of drug that he thinks could work. It’s called Slime Pie.”

“Thinks?! That’s not good enough!”

“It has been tested on temperamental…“lab rats”, and it has calmed them. They simply need to take it more than once a day.”

“Do you know if it will kill it?!” Professor Peixes knew that if one of the experiments died, she would be getting the blame from her husband.

“There is a 97% chance it won’t.”

“How do you intend to make it take the drug enough times?!”

“The drug is in the form of lime-green slime. Its diet can be changed to be only this.”

“And what if it adapts to it?!”

“We don’t believe it will, but if it does it can just take it more often. It doesn’t seem to threaten its life.”

“Fine, feed it to it!” Professor Peixes waved her hand, dismissing Doc Scratch. He bowed to her and left the room. Professor Peixes scowled in frustration. _This could become a problem if the new drug doesn’t work on it…_


	4. 10 minutes later

Feferi sat and waited for her mother to return. She watched the monitors that overlooked the cells of the Experiments. Kanaya was unharmed and Gamzee had been sedated. He was being taken to his cell and Feferi could see some scientists preparing what seemed to be a new type of drug. It looked to be green slime. Then Feferi’s mother walked in, slamming the door behind her. Feferi waited patiently while she paced around, muttering. Finally she stopped and turned to Feferi.

“You’ve been doing excellent in the Tests. I expect you to keep up your hard work.”

“Yes mother,” Feferi said.

“Report anything that is not allowed to me if you see something.”

“Yes mother.”

“And make sure Experiment #8 doesn’t kill Experiment #9. It’s being too rough with its training.”

“Yes mother.”

“Now get out.”

“Yes mother.” Feferi stood up and bowed to her mother. Then she walked out of the room and down some stairs. She was the only Experiment allowed upstairs because Professor Peixes was her mother. Feferi sighed as she entered her cell. _I wish I could just talk to my mother like a normal daughter would talk to her normal mother._ Feferi stared at her scaled arm and sighed. _I wish I was normal._ But she didn’t even know what normal was.

 

Professor Peixes frowned as she watched the Experiments on separate screens. She typed down a status update on her computer: 

_#4 has just had another outburst. #10 was thankfully unharmed, and #4 will be given the new drug. I can only hope that the drug works as well as Doctor Scratch claims it will._

Professor Peixes sighed and leaned back. She watched Experiment #4 wake up. The scientists gave it a pie tin of Slime Pie. #4 dipped its fingers in it and licked up the Slime Pie. It took the pie tin from the scientists and began to lick it up. Professor Peixes watched with satisfaction as #4 calmed down. She could see its muscles relax and a lazy grin spread across its face. It sighed and dropped the pie tin. The scientists took the pie tin and left the room. #4 lay on the floor and stared at the ceiling. Professor Peixes smiled.  _Perfect!_

“Does the new drug meet your expectations?” Professor Peixes turned around and glared at Doctor Scratch, who was standing in the doorway. _When did he come in?!_

“It seems to do its job well enough. But I want to make sure he doesn’t begin adapting to it.”

“You don’t need to worry.”

“I’ll decide about that! Now get out of my sight!” Doctor Scratch bowed and left the room. Professor Peixes sighed and ran her hands through her hair. _I can’t stand him!_


	5. 1 week later

“C’mon Sollux! Faster!” Aradia called. Sollux flapped his wings and shot after her. He could hear the pack of wolves closing in on them. Of course, apparently normal wolves weren’t six feet tall and about thirty feet long, counting the tail. But the animals in Laboratory A4-13 were genetically engineered for the Tests. Especially Hide-and-Seek. Sollux hated that Test.

“Shit! Let’th try climbing!” Sollux grabbed Aradia and flew up through the trees. His arms shook from the strain of carrying her.

“Sollux, it’s okay! Let me just climb!”

“There’th no time! Flying ith fathter!”

“But-”

“Thith ith fine! Really!” Sollux flapped his wings harder and Aradia just sighed. He knew he was trying too hard, but he didn’t want Aradia to get hurt.

“Sollux! Look out!” Sollux opened his eyes in time to dodge a swipe from one of the wolves. Sollux gasped and flew higher.

“We already failed at hiding! Why don’t they jutht let uth out?!”

“Focus on getting higher!” Sollux flew up onto the top of a tree and took a quick breather. The wolves glared at them and circled the tree. Sollux stared at them, grinning.

“Good thing wolveth can’t climb.” Then the tree shook.

“Sollux! They’re chewing the tree!” Sollux looked down and saw Aradia was right. The wolves were chewing away at the trunk, making the tree sway. It was only a matter of time before the tree collapsed. Sollux grabbed Aradia and jumped off the tree just as it fell. But Sollux had spent too much energy carrying Aradia and couldn’t flap his wings hard enough. They started to fall.

“AA! Thtay in that tree!” Sollux yelled, throwing Aradia into a tree they passed. He curled up into a ball to soften his landing. Despite that he still felt one of his arms pop out of its socket. He gasped and clutched his shoulder. He looked up and saw the wolves circling him. He glared at them and got to his feet. _Why can’t they give uth weaponth in thith tetht?!_ A wolf leapt at Sollux and he dodged and clawed at it. The other wolves swarmed around him and he cried out when one bit his arm.

“Sollux!” Aradia landed next to him and started attacking the wolves too.

“I told you to thtay in the tree!”

“I’m not gonna just sit there while you get killed!” Sollux yelled and punched a wolf. But they kept coming at them. Sollux was pressed up against the wall and his left arm was almost torn off. A wolf leapt at him and he cried out and closed his eyes. He heard Aradia shout too.

“Halt the Test!” Sollux opened his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. The wolf in front of him had been knocked back and scientists were keeping the wolves back. Sollux glanced at Aradia and saw another wolf in front of her had been knocked back too. _The thcientithtth mutht have done that._ A female scientist came over and helped Sollux up. He was put on a stretched and carried out of the room.

He was put on a medical bed and doctors swarmed over him. Sollux caught a glimpse of Aradia, who looked even more badly injured than him.  _Pleathe let her be okay. Pleathe let her thurvive._ A doctor injected Sollux with something and he blacked out.

 

“They did what?!” Professor Peixes exclaimed.

“We got it all on video,” the scientist said. He played a video of Experiment #6 and Experiment #7 fighting the wolves. As Professor Peixes watched, she saw no way to deny the evidence before her. A grin spread across her face.

“Take them to Wing #2,” she instructed, standing up. “I’ll go there to view the Testing personally.”

“Yes Professor Peixes.” The scientists bowed and left the room. Professor Peixes watched the video again, grinning. _Impressive…they turned out better than expected._

 

Sollux groaned. He had the start of a headache coming on. He squinted as he tried to open his eyes. He sat up and looked around him. He was sitting on a white table in a blank room he didn’t recognise. There was a table with all sorts of strange equipment on it. Some of the things on it made Sollux shiver and he looked away. He looked next to him and gasped.

“AA!” Sollux leaned over to the table next to him and shook Aradia’s shoulder. “AA, wake up.” Aradia frowned and squinted at Sollux.

“Sollux?” She sat up and looked around her. “Where are we?”

“I dunno…” Then the doors burst open and a scientist walked in. Following behind her was none other than Professor Peixes. Sollux and Aradia both gasped when they saw her. She smiled at them, showing off her sharp teeth. Her smile wasn’t nice and friendly and it made Sollux shiver.

“Well, since they’re both awake, let’s get started.” The scientist picked up a white cube and held it in front of Sollux.

“I want you to knock this across the room.” she said. Sollux reached for it and the scientist smacked his hand. “Without touching it!”

“How the heck am I thuppothed to do that?!” Sollux exclaimed.

“You both did it on the wolves.”

“What?!” Sollux and Aradia both exclaimed.

“You can watch the video yourselves.” Professor Peixes said. She pointed to a TV screen Sollux hadn’t noticed before. A video on it showed him and Aradia fighting the wolves. Sollux watched in amazement as the him on the screen cowered before the wolf, and the wolf was thrown back.

“I did that?!” The scientist nodded and the video turned off.

“Can you do it again?” Sollux stared at the cube and tried concentrating. But no matter what the cube didn’t move. He sighed and shook his head. The scientist wrote something down on her clipboard, then had Aradia try. She couldn’t do anything either. The scientist and Professor Peixes left the room. Sollux could hear them talking with a bunch of other scientists, though he couldn’t tell what they were saying.

“I don’t get it. How could we do that?” Aradia asked. Sollux shrugged and stared at the blank TV screen. Then the doors opened and several scientists and doctors came in. They made Sollux and Aradia lie down and shackled their limbs to the table.

“What are you doing?!” Sollux exclaimed. The scientists ignored him and stepped aside as a doctor came forward with a syringe. It had a strange liquid in it—one half of it was blue and the other half was red. Sollux strained against his bonds and looked at Aradia. A doctor with a syringe full of rust-red liquid approached her.

“G-get away from me!” Aradia screamed. The doctor injected the liquid into her and she screamed.

“AA!” Sollux shouted. The doctor near him grabbed his head and held him down. Others came and held him down as he struggled. He felt the syringe inject the liquid into his neck. It felt like his body was on fire and he screamed. He shut his eyes but the room didn’t seem to get any darker. His eyes felt like they would explode and it felt like his blood had turned to acid. He screamed until he choked and coughed and suddenly couldn’t stop. He lost sense of direction and whether he was lying down or standing up or upside down. His head pounded and every little sound of the room was magnified. _Make it thtop! Make it thtop!_ Then everything went black.

 

“They’re alive,” the doctor said. “And in stable condition.”

“Good. Take them into separate rooms and begin Testing once they wake up,” Professor Peixes ordered. The doctors nodded and wheeled the two Experiments out of the room. Professor Peixes walked past the scientists and upstairs. Her husband was waiting for her in his room.

“I hear there’s news,” he said.

“Experiments #6 and #7 have shown telepathic abilities. They have been given the chemicals needed to enhance them to the point where they can use them.”

“Did the chemicals work?”

“We will know as soon as they wake up.”

“Excellent.”


	6. 5 hours later

Sollux groaned. His head pounded with an awful headache and his mouth was dry and parched. He tried moving his arms. They weren’t shackled. He took deep breaths and tried to remember everything that had happened. After the thing with the wolves, they’d been taken to a room. And a scientist tried to make them lift a cube with their minds. Then a bunch of scientists had come in and… Sollux gasped when he remembered the liquid they’d injected into him. But he wasn’t worrying about that. He was worrying about something else.  _Where’th AA?!_

He slowly opened his eyes and looked around him. He was lying on a white table in a white room. There was another table with a large number of weights on it, lined up from smallest to biggest. There was a door leading out of the room and a security camera in the corner. Sollux sat up and looked around some more. There was nothing else in the room; no other person. He began to panic and got off the table. But once he was standing on his feet he collapsed. He heard some running and a door opened. Someone grabbed his arms and helped him back onto the table. Sollux looked at them and saw it was a scientist. She smiled sweetly to him and motioned for him to stay put. She walked over to the table with the weights and wheeled it over. She pulled out a clipboard and smiled at Sollux.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“I have a terrible headache and I have no thtrength in my legth and my mouth ith all dry. Can I have a drink of water?”

“After the Testing,” the scientist said, writing down some notes on her clipboard.

“Where’th AA?”

“Experiment #6 is in another room.”

“Ith she okay? Can I thee her?”

“I’m sure she’s fine, though I haven’t seen her for myself.” The scientist smiled warmly. “Don’t worry, you can see her after this Testing.” She picked up the smallest weight and held it up to Sollux. “I want you to levitate this.”

Sollux stared at the weight and concentrated. He imagined it slowly lifting off the palm of the scientist’s hand. And to his surprise, it did. The scientist wrote down some notes and Sollux couldn’t help but grin to himself. He still didn’t understand how he was doing that though.

“Okay, next one.” For the next hour or so Sollux lifted different sizes and shapes of weights and sometimes more than one at once. The scientist was pleased each time and told him he’d done a good job. “That should be enough for now.”

“Can I thee AA now?” Sollux asked.

“I’ll go see if Experiment #6’s Testing is done yet. Wait here.” The scientist turned and walked out of the room. Sollux sighed and waited patiently.

 

Aradia could remember exactly what had happened. She remembered the liquid they’d injected into her, and how it burned her veins and made her feel like she would explode. That was why she didn’t want to open her eyes. But she knew that if she didn’t eventually they would make her. So she slowly opened them and sat up, looking around her.

She was in a white room, on a white table. The only other things in the room were a door and a table with various sizes and shapes of weights on it. Aradia could guess what they would do with those. She sighed and stretched her arms. She tried standing up but her legs felt like jelly. She sighed and stayed seated, waiting for someone to come in.

Eventually a scientist came in. He was bald with a large red nose. He scowled at Aradia and wheeled the table with the weights over. He was holding a clipboard and took out a pen.

“Pick up the weights, from smallest to biggest,” he ordered. Aradia looked at the table and focused on the smallest weight she could see. It didn’t move. Aradia frowned and held her hand over it. She motioned with her hand and was relieved when the weight lifted into the air. “Now do that with the next!” the scientist snapped.

Aradia spent more than an hour lifting as many weights as she could. It seemed no matter what she did the scientist was never pleased. He just kept grumbling and glaring at her. Eventually Aradia couldn’t take it. She used her new powers to slam him against the wall. He dropped his clipboard and sputtered uselessly. Aradia crawled over to him and glared at him.

“I despise you,” she said. “You should remember who has the powers here, and who is the weakling.”

“Y-y-you--! Help! S-someone! Help me!” Aradia sat on the floor and waited, keeping the scientist pinned against the wall. When some others burst in she pinned them against the wall too. Then she forced the door closed. She turned and smiled to them all.

“Have I met your expectations?” she asked. None of them said anything at first. She glared at them. “I said: have I met your expectations?!”

“Y-yes,” one of the scientists croaked. Aradia smiled.

“You’re welcome.” She opened the door and released the scientists. Then she brought the table over and pulled herself back onto it. “I’d like to see Sollux now, if you don’t mind.” The scientist with the red nose glared at her and stormed off with his clipboard. Aradia sighed and waited.

 

“Okay, you can visit her.” Sollux grinned at the scientist. “There was a bit of a commotion when she pinned a bunch of scientists against a wall and locked them in there, so that’s why it took awhile. Can you walk yet?” The scientist helped Sollux off the table and while he wobbled a bit Sollux was able to stand. “Great. Follow me.” She led him down the hall and around a corner to another door. She opened it and Sollux followed her inside.

“AA!” Sollux exclaimed.

“Sollux!” Sollux ran up to Aradia and pulled her into a hug. Aradia hugged him back. Sollux heard the scientist walk out of the room and shut the door. He pulled away from Aradia and grinned.

“You okay?” Aradia nodded.

“Yeah. I can’t walk yet, but I’m okay. Can you move things now?” Sollux nodded. He looked at some weights and lifted them up. Aradia whistled. “Nice. I have to use my hands too when I do it.” She demonstrated on another weight. She held her hand over it and lifted it up. “See?”

“It’th thtill awethome.” Aradia smiled and nodded, dropping the weight. Sollux sat next to her on the table. “I heard you pinned a bunch of thcientithtth againtht the wall.” Aradia grinned and nodded.

“Yeah. The scientist who was Testing me was never satisfied so I kind of lost my cool.” She acted like she was embarrassed about it but Sollux could tell she was proud of what she’d done. He grinned.

“They detherved it.” Aradia nodded.

“Yeah, they did.” Sollux and Aradia smiled to each other and Sollux held her hand. They didn’t talk for awhile; just enjoyed each other’s company.

“I wonder what the Tethtth will be like now.” Sollux said. Aradia shrugged.

“I hope they don’t make them harder.”

“Yeah, that would thuck.”

 

“The chemicals worked,” Professor Peixes reported to her husband. “Both Experiments #6 and #7 can move objects with their minds.”

“Excellent. How are the other Experiments?”

“The same as usual.” Her husband nodded, grinning.

“This is turning out perfectly,” he said. Professor Peixes grinned.

“Yes. It is.”


	7. 2 weeks later

Vriska sighed and rubbed her forehead with her left hand. She was getting a headache, and the scientist’s yelling wasn’t helping.  _So I went a bit too hard on Tavros with the training and he’d sprained his wrist. Big deal! It’s just a sprained wrist! And it’s his fault! He should have dodged!_

“Are you even listening to me, Experiment #8?!” the scientist yelled. Vriska glared at him.

“Shut up!” she yelled. The scientist’s mouth suddenly closed. He tried to open it, but apparently couldn’t. Vriska frowned and brought her arm down. The scientist wrenched his mouth open and glared at her.

“What did you just do?!” he snarled. Vriska frowned. _I did that?_ A grin spread across her face. “W-why are you grinning?!” The scientist looked nervous and reached for his tranquilizer gun. _Don’t move!_ The scientist froze. Vriska’s grin widened. _Take us out of here._ The scientist turned and walked out of the room. Vriska grabbed Tavros’s arm and followed him.

“W-what’s going on?” Tavros asked. Vriska smirked at him.

“I’m controlling him. He’s taking us out of this shitty lab.” Tavros’s eyes went wide and his jaw dropped.

“W-what?!”

“I just found out I can do this. It’s pretty badass, huh?”

“Sh-shouldn’t we bring the others with us? Or…um…” Vriska sighed.

“That’ll attract too much attention. And I bet they’ll all be too scared.” Tavros didn’t look convinced. “Jeez, cut it out Tavros! We’re escaping! Stop looking so gloomy!”

“I-”

“Stop!” Vriska looked up and saw some guards run up to them. _Shoot them!_ The scientist shot them with his tranquilizer gun and they all collapsed. Vriska laughed and they ran ahead as an alarm sounded throughout the lab. More guards came at them and Vriska got her scientist to tranquilize them. When he ran out of darts Vriska just had him punch them. Eventually they saw a large metal door.

“That must be the way out!” Vriska exclaimed. She grinned at Tavros. “I told you we’d get out!”

“Hold it!” Vriska turned around and found a scientist with one of the wolves. He had it on a leash and it growled at Vriska and Tavros. Vriska gasped and took a step back. _Damn! I didn’t think this would happen!_ She brought her hand to her forehead and glared at the wolf. _Kill the scientist! Kill him! Bite his head off!_ But it was no use. The wolf didn’t respond. The scientist let go of its leash and it leapt at them.

“S-stop!” Tavros yelled. The wolf froze and looked at him. Tavros stared at the wolf with wide eyes.

“Tell it to kill the scientist,” Vriska whispered.

“What?!”

“Hurry! Before more come!”

“Um, k-k-hold the scientist down,” Tavros said. The wolf slammed the scientist to the floor and held him there.

“You are such a wimp,” Vriska said. Tavros looked upset and Vriska smirked. “Come on, let’s get out of this shithole. Maybe you can even bring that wolf with you.” Vriska turned and walked to the door. Then she felt something hit her leg. She tripped and fell on the floor. She grabbed her ankle and looked at it. A dart was sticking in it. “Damn!”

“V-Vriska!” Tavros exclaimed. Another scientist came up with a tranquilizer gun and shot Tavros. He fell on the floor and was unconscious in seconds. But Vriska refused to be denied her prize. She glared at the scientists. _Go to sleep!_ They dropped to the floor and Vriska sighed. She grabbed Tavros and crawled to the door. She grabbed the handle and pulled. The door was so heavy, and she was starting to get weak. She pulled and pulled but couldn’t make it move fast enough. Eventually she collapsed next to Tavros as her vision began to blacken. _I can still get out. They can’t keep me here, not now! We’ll escape!_

5 MINUTES LATER:

“Experiments #8 and #9 attempted to escape,” Professor Peixes said. “Experiment #8 controlled a scientist and #9 controlled one of the wolves.”

“Subdue Experiment #8’s powers,” her husband said. “Keep guards around them with tranquilizer darts at all times.”

“What about #9’s powers?”

“We should see how that goes in the Tests. Especially Hide-and-Seek.”

“Alright.” Professor Peixes nodded to her husband and left the room. She walked into the room where Experiments #8 and #9 were strapped to hospital beds. Doctors and scientist stood around them. The two Experiments were still unconscious.

“#8’s mind waves have strengthened,” one of the doctors said. He pointed to a computer screen next to Experiment #8, which showed waving green lines. “It’s the same for #9.” He pointed to a second computer screen, which was next to the first. The green waves weren’t as active with #9’s computer, but they were still above normal. Professor Peixes nodded.

“Subdue #8’s powers,” she ordered. “Guards are to be kept around them at all times.”

“Yes Professor Peixes,” the scientists and doctors chorused. Professor Peixes nodded and walked out of the room. She walked upstairs to her room and sat in the chair in front of the many screens overlooking the Experiments. She smiled as she watched their progress. _This is becoming very…interesting._


	8. 3 years later

Karkat fidgeted nervously. He paced back and forth in his cell. He clenched his hands together and took deep breaths. He was thirteen years old. All the Experiments were thirteen years old. It was the day of the Filter Test. Karkat was terrified. If he failed, and was deemed unnecessary, he would be eliminated. He took a shaky breath and walked up to the sink. He splashed water on his face and looked in the mirror. He honestly hated how he looked. His exoskeleton made his skin rough and red. The other Experiments either had scales or fur or just skin.  _It’s not fair!_

“Experiments, report for your Filter Test,” a voice said over the intercom. Karkat took a shaky breath and stepped out of his cell. Terezi was waiting for him. She smiled to him and he nodded. They walked together with the other Experiments down a hallway they’d never gone down before. At the end was a door with a plaque that read “ROOM #4.13 FILTER TEST”.

“I’m nervous…” Nepeta mumbled. Equius bent down and whispered in her ear. Vriska said something to Tavros, who was shaking nervously. They all stopped in front of the door. No one moved, as they were all too scared. Karkat took a deep breath and walked forward. He grabbed the handle and turned it, and opened the door.

 

Professor Peixes lounged in the couch, watching the screens in front of them. They offered multiple views of different angles of the Filter Tests. The teams went one after the other. Other scientists were standing and watching in a room that overlooked room #4.13. They would make their own notes on the Tests. But the ultimate decision was left to Professor Peixes and her husband.

He sat next to her on the couch. He was smiling with anticipation, as Professor Peixes was as well. She rubbed the arm of the couch and stared at the images in front of them.

“Soon…” her husband said.

“Yes dear. Soon.”

5 HOURS AND 50 MINUTES LATER:

Karkat leaned against the wall, his nerves practically shot. He had no idea how well he and Terezi had done with the Test. He was pretty sure they’d done alright, but he didn’t know what the scientists thought. Each Test took one hour, and everyone but Vriska and Tavros had finished theirs. Now they were all waiting for them to finish and to see the results.

Equius was pacing back and forth and carrying Nepeta on his back. Eridan and Feferi were whispering quietly and glancing around the room. Sollux and Aradia were silent and just stared at a wall. They held each other’s hands to reassure themselves. Gamzee was staring into space with a lazy grin on his face. Kanaya was pacing back and forth, clenching and unclenching her hands. Terezi was standing next to Karkat. She kept looking at the clock, then looking away.

Then the doors opened and Vriska and Tavros came out. Tavros was crying and Vriska was carrying him.

“What happened?!” Kanaya asked.

“I kind of fucked up,” Vriska said. “He can’t walk anymore.” Tavros sobbed and clutched his legs. Kanaya hugged him and whispered in his ear.

“Attention Experiments!” a voice boomed over the intercom. Karkat didn’t recognise the voice, but the man sounded to be in his late-thirties. “Thanks to these Tests, we have sorted out the unnecessary from the necessary. Here are your results.” The computer screen, which was hanging on the wall, lit up and displayed a list of numbers.

#1: Necessary

#2: Necessary

#3: Unnecessary

#4: Unnecessary

#5: Necessary

#6: Unnecessary

#7: Necessary

#8: Unnecessary

#9: Unnecessary

#10: Necessary

#11: Unnecessary

#12: Necessary


	9. 1 second later

Tavros burst into tears. Vriska started shouting with outrage. Gamzee just stared at the screen with a look of shock on his face. Kanaya hugged Tavros and did her best to calm him without crying herself. Sollux held Aradia and she cried too. Karkat just stared at the screen with horror.  _Unnecessary…? N-no. No!_ Karkat looked at Terezi, who looked horrified and sympathetic at the same time. She hugged him tight.

“Oh god Karkles…” she whispered. Karkat blinked at the tears in his eyes.

“This is bullshit!” Vriska yelled. “Why the fuck am I unnecessary?! Do you want to test me bitches?! Do you?! I dare you to come down here and fight me now! Do it! Or hide behind your masks and doors like the cowards you are!”

“Calm down Vriska,” Kanaya said. She was starting to cry too. Vriska looked at her and sighed, but didn’t get rid of the glare in her eyes. She patted Kanaya’s shoulder and whispered to Tavros. Terezi let Karkat go and Sollux and Aradia stood up.

“Necessary Experiments, return to your cells. Unnecessary Experiments will be dealt with.”

“I-I don’t wanna die!” Tavros wailed.

“Neither do I,” Aradia said. She wiped her tears away and took a deep breath. “I don’t want to die.”

“None of us do,” Kanaya said. “But what choice do we have?”

“No,” Karkat said. Everyone looked at him and frowned.

“What?” Kanaya asked.

“We’re not dying,” Karkat said. “To hell with this shit! Let’s get out of here!”

“I can’t use my powers,” Vriska said. “And we’re unarmed.”

“Use your fucking creativity! We’ll get weapons!”

“I don’t know…” Tavros mumbled. “Vriska and I already tried once…”

“Look, this whole project is fucking messed up! If we’re gonna die, let’s die fighting! And everyone who’s not gonna die, do you really want to support this shitty project?!” The atmosphere of the room seemed to change instantly. Kanaya stood up straight and looked more confident. Vriska grinned eagerly and Aradia and Tavros stopped crying.

“We’ll follow you,” Kanaya said. “Lead us out of here.” Karkat took a deep breath and nodded.

“Vriska, Tavros, do you remember where the metal door is?”

“Yeah, down this hall, take a left and go straight until you have to take either a left or a right turn. Go to the left again and keep going forward.” Vriska said.

“Okay. Get ready. We’re leaving now.” Everyone nodded and stood up straight. “Tavros, ride on Equius’s back, okay?” Kanaya carried Tavros over to Equius and put him on his back. Tavros wrapped his arms around Equius’s waist and gave a small, slightly confident, smile.

“I-I’m ready,” he said. Karkat nodded.

“Let’s go.”

 

“What the hell is going on?!” Professor Peixes screeched to the scientists. They cowered and glanced at the ground.

“The Experiments are escaping,” one of them repeated. Professor Peixes punched him in the face.

“Then stop them!”

“We’re trying!” another scientist said. “Experiment #9 got some of the dogs that were with some guards to help them. And now they’ve taken guns from the guards. Experiments #6 and #7 are using their powers against the guards.”

“Useless! You’re all useless! Get down there and stop them yourselves!” The scientists scurried out of the room and Professor Peixes slammed the door.

“Calm yourself Professor Peixes,” Doctor Scratch said. “If they escape, we will simply have to hunt them down and kill them.”

“We can’t do that! We need the necessary alive!”

“She’s right.” Professor Peixes smiled to her husband. “Kill the unnecessary, but leave the necessary alive and bring them back here.”

“Of course.” Doctor Scratch bowed and left the room. Professor Peixes sighed and ran her hand through her hair.

“Calm down,” her husband said. “Our goal isn’t lost. It’s just stalled.”

“I know.” Professor Peixes said. “I know.”

 

Karkat ran down the hall, the others following behind him. Two white dogs ran with them, blood around their mouths. They stayed next to Equius, who still had Tavros on his back.

“There’s the door!” Vriska exclaimed, pointing ahead. At the end of the hall was a thick metal door. Karkat ran up to it and grabbed the handle. He pulled, but it was too heavy for him to move.

“Allow me,” Equius said. Karkat stepped aside and they all watched Equius grab the handle and pull the door open. They all squeezed through and ran into a dimly-lit white room. There was another door ahead, with a sign that read “EXIT” above it.

“A way out!” Terezi exclaimed. Karkat followed behind her with everyone else and they ran to the door. They opened it and stepped outside.


	10. 1 second later

Once Karkat was outside he was momentarily blinded by bright light. He heard Terezi scream and he grabbed her arm.

“Terezi! Are you okay?!” he asked.

“My eyes…” Terezi moaned. Karkat blinked until he could see again. He knelt next to Terezi, who was slouched on the ground with her hands over her eyes.

“What happened?!” Karkat asked.

“I-I looked up at the sky.” Terezi said. She pointed upwards and Karkat glanced up, squinting his eyes. There was a round bright light in the sky.

“You looked right at that?!” he exclaimed. Terezi nodded. “Here, move your hands. Let’s see your eyes.” Terezi brought her hands down and opened her eyes. They’d gone completely red. Not like how the colour of her eyes was already red, like some people have green eyes or blue. No, the entirety of her eyes was bright red. There were no whites in her eyes or pupils. Just red. Karkat grabbed Terezi’s face and stared at her eyes.

“Is it bad?” Terezi asked. “Karkles, I can’t see anything. Everything’s black to me.”

“Try blinking,” Aradia said. “Maybe you’ll see if you blink a few times.” Terezi blinked her eyes about ten times.

“It’s still black,” she whined.

“The scientists will catch us! We have to move!” Vriska snapped. Karkat nodded. He pulled Terezi to her feet.

“Let’s run!” he said. Everyone nodded and followed him as he took off running, pulling Terezi with him.

They were in a dense forest full of cedar and pine trees. Karkat and the others only knew what forests were from images of parts of the countries, and asking what things were. But knowing they were in a forest wasn’t going to save them. And soon Karkat could hear the sounds of the scientists chasing them.

“There they are!” one yelled. Karkat ran faster and prayed that they would be alright. He heard one of the dogs cry out and Tavros yell “No!”

“Just keep going!” Karkat yelled. “Tavros, get any other animals you see to help us.”

“I-I don’t see any…” Tavros said. The other dog cried out and Karkat heard Tavros wail.

“You can get more dog friends Tavros! Just focus on getting us more help!” Vriska snapped. Karkat hoped Tavros was doing something that would help them. He wasn’t sure how much farther he could run.

Then a pack of wolves, smaller than the ones at the lab, burst out of the bushes. Tavros began calling to them and they charged at the scientists. Karkat glanced back and saw one tear off a scientist’s arm. He quickly looked back ahead.

“Alright! Good job Tavros!” Vriska cheered.

“Um…thanks.” Tavros said weakly.

Eventually they managed to lose the scientists. They found a cave by a river and they hid in there for awhile. The cave was mostly hidden from view so they weren’t worried about being found. Karkat was glad to be able to rest and sat on the stone floor. Feferi and Eridan dunked their heads in the lake. Terezi sat next to Karkat and felt around them.

“This is so weird,” she said.

“Yeah,” Karkat agreed. He looked around at the others. They were all unharmed, except for Tavros still not being able to walk and Terezi couldn’t see. Tavros looked shaken and Kanaya was doing her best to calm him down. Vriska was pacing back and forth while Equius stood guard. Aradia and Sollux sat next to each other and spoke quietly. Gamzee just lay down on the floor and hummed quietly to himself.

“What are we supposed to eat?” Nepeta asked. Everyone stopped. _Shit. I hadn’t thought of that._

“Tavros, can you get some birds to bring us food or something?” Karkat asked. Tavros crawled up to the entrance of the cave and looked out. He made a whistling noise and a few black birds landed next to him.

“Can you bring us some food please?” he asked. The birds flapped their wings and flew off.

“What do we do now?” Aradia asked. Everyone turned and looked to Karkat.

“We’ll rest here for the night. In the morning we’ll keep going until we find a safe place to stay that’s far away from the lab.” Everyone nodded and went back to pacing or talking or humming. Karkat went over what had happened, and what might happen, in his head. _We probably should try to avoid civilization. But we’ll get food more easily there from garbage cans. Maybe if we found some clothes to cover Nepeta, she could sneak in and get some for us. She’s the best at sneaking after all._ Karkat nodded to himself as a plan began to form in his mind.

“Hey, we got food,” Tavros said. Karkat looked up to see the black birds had returned with berries and nuts. Tavros distributed them evenly among everyone and thanked the birds. They cawed and flew off. Everyone ate the berries slowly, doing their best to make them last. It was getting dark and Karkat decided to take first watch. Nepeta would take over after him.

“I wonder if this is a dream,” Terezi whispered, lying next to Karkat.

“It’s not a dream,” Karkat said. He rubbed her head and smiled. “I promise.”


	11. 2 days later

Karkat looked at the town, which was visible through the trees. The forest they were in was so big it had taken them two days to finally find some civilization. Of course, they’d also had to stop when someone got tired or had to go to the bathroom. But either way, they were now looking at a town.

The buildings were all a boring white and looked the same. There were a few buildings that didn’t look like that with people going in and out of them a lot. Karkat wondered what they were. Some had signs that said “Superstore” or “Thrifty Foods” on them and stuff like that, so Karkat was pretty sure they sold food or something.

“What do we do now?” Sollux asked.

“Nepeta, can you sneak in and find us some food?” Karkat asked. Nepeta nodded and crouched down, preparing to sneak into the town. “Remember not to be seen.”

“I know. Don’t worry.” she said.

“-got to be around here somewhere.” Karkat and everyone froze. _Shit! The scientists!_ They all looked to Karkat with wide eyes.

“This way!” Karkat whispered. He led them behind one of the buildings, which Karkat realized was a house, and into a small building behind it with a car inside. There were a bunch of boxes and other crap in there and they all hid behind them. They waited quietly, hoping they hadn’t been spotted.

“Maybe they didn’t see us?” Nepeta whispered. Then they heard footsteps and all went quiet.

“-tell your bro to ask before borrowing my dad’s car next time. And not to park it in the garage, my dad likes to keep it outside.” The person speaking sounded like he was around their age.

“Yeah, okay. But don’t blame me when he doesn’t listen.” The other boy speaking seemed to be the same age. Karkat watched the two boys walk into the building. One had messy black hair and rectangle glasses. The other had white hair and dark shades.

“Aw man! Dave, your bro got a scratch on the car! Dad’s gonna be so pissed.”

“Oh. Shit. Well, just tell him it was Dirk and you won’t get blamed, right?”

“Yeah, but the car’s brand new!”

“Maybe we can paint over it.”

“…Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try. Where’s the paint?” 

“I’ll look over here. You check that side.” Karkat ducked his head as the kid turned their way. He waited and listened to their footsteps. _Fuck, don’t let them see us. Please don’t let them see us._ The footsteps stopped and Karkat glanced up. The boy with black hair was staring down at them with a look of shock on his face.


	12. 2 seconds later

“Dave! There’s some really weird people here!” the black haired boy exclaimed. The other guy, Dave, ran over and stared at them.

“Whoa…what the hell?” he said. Karkat glared at them.

“If you tell anyone we’re here we’ll fucking end you!” he snarled. The black haired boy backed up nervously but Dave grabbed his arm.

“Fine, we won’t. But who are you?”

“Tell us your names first.” Aradia said.

“I’m Dave. This is John.” John nodded and waved nervously. “So who are-”

“John! Dave! What are you doing?” John and Dave froze as a two girls walked in. One had long black hair and round glasses. The other had short white hair and purple eyes. “I thought we were all going to play videogames.”

“Uh, can you wait outside for us Jade?” John asked.

“Oh, are we interrupting something?” the white haired girl asked, smirking. John blushed and shook his head.

“N-no!” he yelled. The other girl giggled. A big white dog ran into the building and came up to Karkat and the others and began sniffing them.

“Did you find something Bec?” the black haired girl asked. Karkat glared at the dog.

“Tavros, make it leave,” he whispered. But instead Tavros crawled over to the dog and began to pet it. “Tavros!”

“Wait, who’s there with you?” The two girls walked up to them and gasped when they saw Karkat and the others. Vriska glared at Tavros, who flinched and moved closer to the dog. _This is not going well. Shit, this is bad. We’re drawing too much attention to ourselves!_

“Oh. I suppose we weren’t supposed to see them, were we?” the white haired girl asked. Dave sighed and shook his head. “I’m sorry. I’m Rose by the way. This is Jade.” Jade smiled and waved.

“So who are you guys?” Dave asked. Karkat introduced them all.

“So you don’t have anywhere to go?” Rose asked. Karkat shook his head.

“They could stay here!” John exclaimed. “At my place! How’s that sound?”

“Will the scientists find us?” Nepeta asked.

“No, I promise,” John said.

“What about your dad? How do you think he’ll react to finding them in his house?” Dave asked.

“I’m sure he won’t mind once I explain. C’mon, let’s sneak you in now.” John grabbed Karkat’s arm and he yanked it away.

“I can get up just fine!” he snarled. John backed up and Karkat and the others stood up. Karkat led Terezi after John, Dave, Rose and Jade. Tavros was still on Equius’s back. John led them through a back door and down a hallway. They came to a room with a couch and a fireplace.

“Um, just sit wherever I guess. Don’t knock over my grandma’s ashes, okay?” John said, gesturing to a black urn sitting above the fireplace. Karkat and Terezi quickly sat on the couch. Tavros was put next to them. The others just sat on the floor, except for Equius; who stayed standing.

“John, where are they all gonna sleep?” Dave asked.

“Well, once we get the car out of the garage, we could put sleeping bags and stuff there.” John said. He smacked his forehead. “Oh, right! We have to paint over that scratch!”

“Okay, why don’t you find some way to entertain them?” Dave said to Rose and Jade, gesturing at the twelve people. Rose and Jade nodded and Dave and John left the house.

“So, are you guys hungry?” Jade asked.

“Yes,” everyone said at once.

“Okay. We’ll go get you food then. Does anyone have any allergies?”

“Tavros is allergic to cats,” Vriska said. “But I think that’s it.”

“Okay. We’ll be right back. Please don’t break anything.” Jade and Rose walked through a door to another room. Karkat sighed and leaned his head back. Everyone was silent and the only noise was their breathing. After awhile Jade and Rose came back in with a bunch of sandwiches. They had to go back and forth from the kitchen to bring them all. Jade reached over from behind Karkat to hand him his. He looked up at her to thank her and noticed how the light made her black hair shine really nicely as it hung down over her shoulders and her eyes were a really pretty green. He felt his face go hot and looked away. He munched his sandwich along with the others. John and Dave walked back inside.

“Oh, I want a sandwich too!” John exclaimed.

“Yeah, me too,” Dave added.

“Make your own you,” Jade said. John rolled his eyes and he and Dave walked into the kitchen. They came out ten minutes later with layered sandwiches full of meat, lettuce and dip. They sat down on the floor and started eating.

“So how’d it go you two?” Jade asked.

“Well, we mostly covered the scratch,” John said. “And we managed to get it out of the garage. Oh, but we don’t have twelve sleeping bags.” Jade sighed and Rose rolled her eyes.

“I suppose we’ll have to buy some since you’re both broke,” Rose said. John shrugged like he was embarrassed and Dave just nodded. “Alright, we’ll go later.”

Then the door opened and an adult walked in. He had pale skin like John and wore all white and had a rather large nose. He stopped when he saw Karkat and the others and looked at John in confusion.

“Um, they need to stay here and we can’t let the scientists find them,” John said.

“Oh, okay. Where are they sleeping?” the man asked.

“We were thinking in the garage. Rose and Jade will get them sleeping bags.”

“Okay.” The man nodded and walked upstairs.

“Who the fuck was that?” Karkat asked.

“That was my dad,” John said. Rose stood up suddenly and stretched her arms.

“I’ll go out and buy some things now then,.” she said. Jade stood up.

“I’ll come too. Bye guys.”

“Bye,” John and Dave said. Nepeta, Aradia and Feferi said bye too and Jade and Rose left. Karkat finished eating his sandwich.

“Now what?” he wondered aloud.

“You wanna watch TV?” Dave asked.

“What’s that?” Aradia asked.

“You don’t know what TV is?” Dave asked.

“We’ve lived in a fucking lab our whole shitty lives!” Karkat snapped.

“Right, sorry. Here.” Dave picked up a remote and pointed it at a screen on the wall. It turned on and showed a bunch of teenage guys talking.

“This is TV,” John said. “There are different programmes, like this one. Uh, they’re basically people acting out stories or it’s a news show telling you what’s going on in the world and stuff like that. Or moving drawings telling a story.”

“Huh,” Karkat grunted. They watched the TV for a few hours. Then it was supper time and Rose and Jade arrived with sleeping bags.

“You’ll probably have to use some of our clothes tomorrow,” Jade said. “We were going to buy you some but we were getting hungry and we should really have your measurements for that.” They passed out the sleeping bags and John’s dad made everyone supper. John and Jade made jokes and they all talked. Karkat and the others were mostly silent. When they finished eating Jade offered to collect everyone’s plates.

“Oh, I can do that,” Aradia said. She motioned with her hand and all the plates gently flew over to the counter and landed. Jade, John, Rose, Dave and John’s dad all looked stunned. Aradia blushed slightly and stared at the ground. “Um…the experiments they did…uh…”

“That’s so cool!” Jade exclaimed. Aradia looked surprised. “Can you teach me to do that?!”

“Uh, I don’t think so. I think I was just born with the ability. The scientists just enhanced it.” Jade pouted but nodded. Then she put all the dishes into what she told them was a dishwasher and started it up.

Tavros yawned and Kanaya said they should all go to bed. So they all went outside, carefully making sure no one could see them, and went inside the garage. They laid their sleeping bags on the floor.

“Let us know if you guys need something,” John said. He waved and walked out, closing the garage doors about two thirds. Karkat sighed and stared at the ceiling.

“I can hardly believe this,” Terezi whispered.

“Yeah,” Karkat replied.

“We’re really lucky, huh?”

“Maybe it’s karma,” Vriska said.

“Who cares?” Feferi said. “At least we’re okay.”

“Yeah,” Karkat said. They were all quiet and Karkat felt himself begin to drift asleep. Then Feferi spoke up.

“Kanaya, we don’t have any Slime Pie.”


	13. 10 hours later

Gamzee had refused to sleep outside and when they all started yelling at him he panicked and made them stop because he didn’t want to snap. He’d already gone two days without taking Slime Pie, and they weren’t sure how long it would take for the effects to wear off. So in the end they had him sleep at the back of the garage and they took turns keeping watch. Karkat took second watch and after him it was Kanaya.

When Karkat woke up there was sunlight coming into the garage. He glanced at Gamzee and saw he was asleep.  _Great, because Tavros fucking fell asleep on watch duty!_ Karkat glared at Tavros’s sleeping form. Tavros just snored softly and rolled over. Karkat rolled his eyes and just lay there for awhile. _We have to think of something to do about Gamzee though. We can’t just hope he won’t snap. Maybe we can find a substitute or something. Fuck, this is hard._ Karkat was about to sigh when he heard Gamzee get up. He shut his eyes and hoped he didn’t snap. He heard Gamzee pace back and forth and take deep breaths.  _Crap, this isn’t good. Shit, what do we do?!_ Then Karkat heard the garage doors open.

“Guys, it’s time for breakfast,” John said. Karkat opened his eyes in time to see Gamzee jump at John. Kanaya sat up and grabbed Gamzee. She pinned him down and Karkat helped her. Gamzee howled and clawed at them. Kanaya put her hand over his mouth and he bit her. She winced, but didn’t move her hand. Karkat glanced at John and saw that he had run back inside. _Oh great._ A few seconds later John came back with Jade following behind him. She was carrying a tranquilizer gun.

“Can you hold him still please?” she said, aiming. Karkat blinked a few times and did as she asked. She shot him in the arm and he kept thrashing. She had to shoot him two more times before he fell unconscious. “Okay, I think we have a straightjacket in my house somewhere. I’ll run over and get it.”

“Why the fuck do you have that?” Karkat asked.

“I have no idea.” Jade smiled and walked off. Karkat sighed and looked back at Gamzee. His breathing was a bit rapid but otherwise he seemed okay. Everyone else was awake and John went to get them all breakfast. Equius took over holding Gamzee down in case he woke up. Karkat sat next to Terezi and took some deep breaths to calm himself. Terezi leaned her head on his shoulder, making him jump a bit. He felt himself start to blush and looked away from her. He noticed Nepeta staring at them and he glared at her. She turned away and started talking with Aradia.

Rose came and had everyone come into the house for breakfast. They all sat in the living room and ate the cereal John passed to them all. Karkat thought it tasted terrible but he didn’t complain since it was more filling than what they’d gotten at the lab.

While they ate Jade took care of Gamzee. They decided to keep him in the garage, which they locked just in case. After that she joined them for breakfast.

“How long are you all staying here?” Rose asked suddenly.

“Can’t we live here?” Nepeta asked, her eyes going big and pleading.

“It might be a bit inconvenient,” Rose said. “If the scientists start asking around, it would probably be better if you didn’t stay in the same place for too long, or if you went farther away.”

“Well, where’s somewhere else that’s close by?” Karkat asked.

“I don’t know,” Rose admitted, shrugging.

“C’mon, what’s to worry about?” Vriska said. “It’s not like the scientists are gonna go knocking on peoples doors to ask them if they’ve seen some half-animal kids around.”

Coincidentally, there was then a knock at the door.

“Okay, that is just ironically shitty timing,” Dave said. “I mean, seriously.”

“Dave, go answer the door,” Jade said. “Before they get suspicious!” Dave sighed.

“Fine.”

“All of you be quiet.” Jade waved her hand at Karkat and the others. “The three of us will just have a conversation in case they can hear us.”

“Well, you’re grandfather’s still recovering from his heart attack, isn’t he Jade?” Rose said. Jade sighed and nodded.

“Yeah, but he still insists on going out to hunt everyday. I just can’t convince him to-”

“Oh, wow! Mad scientists!” Dave said loudly. They all froze. “Are you here for some brains for your Frankensteins? Because we don’t keep those in a fridge.”

“What do we do?!” Nepeta whispered.

“Let’s get them out of here!” John suggested.

“We can’t sneak them out back, someone might see them,” Rose whispered.

“Karkat, what do we do?” Tavros asked. Everyone looked to Karkat. He took a deep breath and thought for a minute. _If Vriska just controls them to make them go away, they’ll get suspicious. And they’ll see us if we go outside, or someone else will and that will cause a huge ruckus…_

“Do you have hooded coats or something that can disguise us?” he asked.

“Yeah, there’s a bunch of spares. Why?” John said.

“We’ll put those on and try to sneak off. If they spot us we’ll run for it.”

“Is that really a good idea?” Jade asked.

“Who cares?! Let’s just do it!” Vriska whispered loudly.

“Yes, Dave won’t be able to stall the scientists forever,” Rose said. “I’ll go help him out now.” She walked off to where Dave was still talking with the scientists.

“What about Gamzee?” Kanaya asked.

“We’ll take care of him,” Jade said. “Come on, let’s hurry!”

So Karkat and the others were quickly outfitted with hoodies and such. They would all form a circle around Equius and Tavros would ride on his back. They would make for a dark alley to hide in until it was safe to go back to John’s house.

“If you get lost, call us, okay?” Jade said, handing Karkat a small device.

“What’s this?” he asked, holding it up.

“It’s a phone. Here, this is how you call my number, it’s on the list of contacts.” Jade showed him how to call her number and speak into the phone. “You good now?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.” Karkat took Terezi’s hand and John and Jade helped them out the door. Karkat glanced at the garage, where Gamzee was still unconscious.

“He’ll be fine, I promise,” Jade said. Karkat nodded.

“Okay, let’s go.” They all slowly walked forward, making sure no one saw them. _We just have to head down the street and into a dark alley. Then we can-_

“Hey! There they are!” Karkat turned and saw a scientist yelling at them.

“Scatter!” he yelled. Immediately they all bolted in different directions. Karkat kept a hold of Terezi’s hand as he ran. He had no idea where he was going or where the others were going. He just hoped that they would all be okay and none of them would get captured again.


	14. 2 hours later

Karkat slumped down on the ground, leaning against the grimy wall. Terezi sat next to him, still panting hard. Their hands were clutched tightly together and their palms were sweaty. They’d been running for a long time, with only a few breaks, and it seemed like they were safe.  _For now._ Terezi leaned her head on Karkat’s shoulder and sighed.

“Do you think the others are okay?” she asked. Karkat sighed.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I hope they are.”

“Why don’t you contact Jade? With that thing she gave you?” Karkat dug the phone out of his pocket and called Jade’s number. He listened to it ring for a few seconds. _C’mon…pick up!_

“Karkat?!”

“Jade! Hey, is it safe to-”

“You have to help them!”

“What? Help who?”

“John, Dave and Rose! The scientists dragged them off! I managed to get away but where are you? Are you all okay?!”

“I’m with Terezi, we’re in a dark alley. I don’t know where the others are.”

“Try to find a store or something and I’ll meet up with you. We’ll go find the others.”

“Okay. What about Gamzee? What happened to him?”

“I didn’t see, sorry. Unless they took him he’s still in the garage.”

“Okay. I’ll go find a store or something nearby.”

“Don’t let anyone see you.”

“I won’t.”

“Okay—wait, hang on.”

“What? Jade?” Karkat could hear Jade breathing heavily. “Hey, is everything-”

“Be quiet!” Karkat shut his mouth and listened to the sound of Jade’s breathing. “Okay, sorry. I just thought I’d heard—shit!”

“Jade?!” Karkat heard some yelling and Jade screamed. “Jade! Hey!” Then the line went silent.

 

Sollux listened to the footsteps stop in front of them. They held their breath and waited. After a few seconds they heard the footsteps continue away. Sollux lifted the lid of the garbage bin up and peered out.

“It’th thafe,” he said.

“Maybe we should stay here?” Aradia whispered. “Until they’re farther away?”

“Yes, we don’t want to get captured,” Kanaya whispered. Sollux nodded and sat back down. None of them could see in the dark but they made-do.

“Do you think the others got away?” Aradia asked.

“I hope so,” Kanaya said. “I’m especially worried about Equius. It will be harder for him to hide.”

“Yeah, and Tavroth ith thtill with him.” Sollux said.

“I hope Vriska doesn’t cause trouble,” Aradia said. “She seems like she would try to fight the scientists.”

“Yeah,” Sollux agreed.

“Quiet!” Kanaya hissed. They all stopped and listened. Quiet footsteps were approaching. Sollux lifted the lid up an inch and peered through. Kanaya and Aradia came up next to him and looked as well. Two people walked by. _Wait, ithn’t that-_

“Karkat!” Kanaya exclaimed, lifting the lid up. Karkat jumped and turned around, but relaxed when he saw it was them. He ran up to them and they climbed out of the garbage bin.

“Great, you’re all okay. Where’re the others?”

“We haven’t seen them,” Kanaya said. She reached over and started fixing Karkat’s hair. Karkat swatted her hand away.

“Cut it out! We need to find them before someone else does!”

“I think I saw Eridan and Feferi run that way when we all split up,” Aradia said, pointing.

“Okay, let’s go.”

 

Feferi was freaking out. She was getting dry, and she needed water soon. Eridan was as well, she could tell. They looked around desperately for a source of water they could use.

“We might have to go back to the forest,” Feferi said. “For that river.”

“I guess that’s our best option, huh?” Eridan said. They both ran in the direction of the forest. _Please don’t let the scientist find us. Pleeeaase._

“Eridan! Feferi!” Feferi and Eridan stopped and looked up in time to be splashed with water in the face. Feferi gasped in surprise and Eridan yelled. Feferi heard someone laugh and she blinked her eyes.

“Vriska?” she said. Vriska jumped down next to them.

“Man, you should have seen your faces!” she said, smirking. Eridan glared at her and started to say something but Feferi shushed him.

“Where are the others?” she asked.

“And wwhat are you doin’?” Eridan asked. “I thought you’d be attackin’ the scientists.”

“I was. But my mind-controlling is still dim from the stuff they’d inject me with, so I had to run because they have guns and there were a lot of them.” She wound up grumbling the last bit.

“Okay then. We need to find the others. Any idea where they might be?” Feferi said.

“No clue.”

“Let’s just start lookin’,” Eridan said. Feferi nodded and they made their way back to John’s house, hoping to find one of the others there.

“Feferi!” Feferi turned and saw Nepeta waving to her. They all ran up to her and Nepeta gave Feferi a hug.

“Are you okay?” Feferi asked Nepeta nodded.

“Yeah, we’re all fine.” she said, gesturing behind her, where Equius and Tavros were.

“Where’s Karkat?” Tavros asked. “And the others?”

“We’re not sure,” Feferi said. “But we’ll find them. Let’s go look around.” Nepeta squeaked and Feferi saw her swat at a bee. Equius moved to kill it for her but Feferi grabbed his arm. “Wait, bees! Sollux!” she said. The bee flew off and Feferi followed it.

“We’re following a bee?” Tavros said.

“Sollux might have sent it!” Feferi insisted.

“Can’t you just talk to it Tav?” Eridan asked.

“No, I can’t talk to insects.”

“Guyth!” Feferi grinned when she saw Sollux waving to them.

“I told you!” she said. They all ran up to him and were relieved to see everyone else was there.

“We should head back to John’s house.” Kanaya said. “We need to make sure they’re all okay.”

“They’re not,” Karkat said. Everyone stopped and looked at him.

“What?” Kanaya asked.

“I contacted Jade and she said the scientists captured John, Dave and Rose. She was hiding from them and I think one of them found her.”

“Oh no!” Feferi exclaimed.

“We have to help them!” Nepeta said. Karkat nodded.

“Yeah. We’ll go to the lab and get them out.”

 

John’s head throbbed painfully. He winced and squinted his eyes open.  _Where am I?_ He blinked and looked around him. He was in a white room with bright lights on the ceiling. He was lying on a white table and his ankles and wrists were shackled to the table. There was a woman with long hair that trailed on the ground who had her back to him. She was standing in front of a table that, from what John could see of it, was covered with surgery tools and syringes. He shivered and tugged at the shackles, but they wouldn’t come off. He yanked harder on them but nothing happened. The woman turned around and walked up to him. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. John froze and held his breath.

“Do you know how many years it took to get those Experiments done?!” she hissed. “Our plan was almost complete, and they went and escaped! And I know you helped them somehow!” John gulped and tried to move away from her. “I’m really pissed off right now. And I need something to take my anger out on.” She grabbed a syringe full of light blue liquid and jammed it in his arm. John screamed as pain flooded up his arm and across his body.


	15. 5 days later

Karkat sighed and banged his head on the wall.  _This is getting nowhere! It’s been five fucking days already! They could be dead for all we know!_

“Hey you little fuckers,” Jack said, walking in. “I think we’ve got a way in.” Karkat and the others crowded around the small table as Jack put a map down. “There’s an old sewage system that runs right under the lab. We might be able to use it to get inside.”

“Great,” Karkat said. “Why don’t we go check it out to see if it’s collapsed at all.”

“Sure.” Jack rolled the map back up. “Droog, you’re in charge.” He gestured to the large man leaning against the wall. He nodded silently. “C’mon kid, let’s go.” Karkat nodded and followed Jack outside. He pulled his hood over his face and let the sleeves dangle over his claws. He stepped outside and followed Jack down the dark alley.

Jack Noire had found Karkat and the others in an alley the day Jade, John, Rose and Dave had been captured by the scientists. He hadn’t even looked very shocked by their appearances. Well, aside from the fact that his first reaction had been to stab Karkat in the side. But after a bunch of yelling and stuff everyone calmed down and they explained to Jack who they were. He didn’t seem too upset or shocked by their story. Instead he took them to his hideout, which was an abandoned bar, and let them stay there. He’d even helped with looking for a way into the lab.

Karkat got along pretty well with Jack Noire. He knew that it had been a misunderstanding when Jack had stabbed him that time. And the second time had been because he needed to see if he’d sharpened his dagger enough. And he’d made sure not to hit anything vital, so it was okay.  _Maybe I just set my expectations for friends really low._

“Here it is,” Jack said, interrupting Karkat’s thoughts. He was bent over an old sewer grate. Karkat helped him pull it out of the ground. Jack jumped down and Karkat heard the quiet thump of him landing. “Okay, you can come down!” Karkat followed after him, landing on the ground a bit heavily. He winced and gasped, but he was otherwise fine.

Karkat and Jack made their way down the dark tunnel. Jack brought out a flashlight and waved the beam around. The sewers were totally dry and other than some rats and spiders there was nothing living there. They walked about to where the halfway point would be without finding any kind of problem.

“This should be fine then. Let’s go back,” Karkat said. Jack nodded and they turned around and walked back. Karkat stood on Jack’s shoulders to get out of the sewers and pulled him out after him. They put the grate back in the ground and made their way back to the hideout. When they got back they found Tavros speaking with some stray dogs.

“Oh, hi,” he said.

“Welcome back you two,” Kanaya said. “How did it go?”

“Great,” Karkat said. “It seems good to use. We’ll head over in a few hours.”

“Alright. You should eat something then.” Kanaya gestured to the meagre food sitting on the table. Karkat grabbed an apple and bit into it. It was rather dry, but he didn’t care. He sat next to Terezi, who seemed to be tasting the air with her tongue. Jack walked into his office and Karkat got a brief glimpse of a desk piled with papers and magazines (probably porn) before the door closed. Kanaya bent over him and started to fuss over his hair. Karkat glared at her but she ignored him and kept fussing. Normally he would make her stop but he didn’t really care at the moment. He was too busy thinking over how they would get John, Jade, Rose and Dave out of the lab. _God, they better still be alive after all the fucking work we’ve had to do to even find a way in there!_

 

Rose sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She had a headache coming on, and the constant moaning wasn’t helping. Not that she would ever complain about it. She looked over John, Dave and Jade again. Dave’s breaths were ragged he coughed up blood a couple times. The fabric she had wrapped around his back was stained with blood. He was suspended above the ground by cords wrapped around his wrists that hung down from the ceiling, his feet barely brushing the floor. His wings hung limply, blood dripping from the feathers. His skin and hair had been turning orange gradually. It seemed to have stopped at a pale orange, the same colour as his wings. John was lying on the floor next to Dave. His skin was glowing brightly, the only light source in the room. Both of them had their eyes closed and Rose wasn’t even sure if they were awake.

Jade moaned loudly from where she was lying on the ground. Blood clotted her hair and made a small puddle on the floor. She seemed to be in too much pain to close her mouth, which remained open wide as she moaned and sobbed. Her hands clutched the top of her head where the blood was coming from. Her skin was a dark grey, like Rose’s. But unlike Jade, Rose wasn’t suffering any painful mutations.

Rose bent over Jade and gently gripped her wrists. She slowly brought her hands away from her head and Jade screamed and kicked her feet. Rose gently pulled her hair away to see what was happening to her. She gasped when she saw the ears. They were dog ears, a dark grey like her skin. Rose let go of Jade’s wrists and checked the sides of her head. Her ears were gone there, seeming to have sunk into her head. Rose poked one of the ears lightly and Jade howled. Rose drew her hand back quickly as Jade covered her ears again. She moaned loudly and sobbed. Tears were running down her cheeks. Rose wiped them away and stroked her cheek.

_It’s going to be okay,_ she thought to herself.  _Karkat and the others will save us. They won’t abandon us here._ She continued to stroke Jade’s cheek as she howled in pain and hummed a lullaby her mother used to sing to her. While it didn’t calm Jade down, it kept Rose from crying.

 

Karkat and the others crept silently down the tunnel. Sollux was next to him, waving a flashlight around. Vriska had another, which she used to light the way for those at the back. She was also carrying Tavros with her. Equius was with Jack and the others outside. They were going to create a distraction. They were over halfway there.  _We’re getting them out of there. No matter what crap the scientists pull on us._

“There’s the way up,” Aradia whispered, pointing ahead to a rusty ladder. Karkat walked up to it and carefully gripped the bars. He rested his weight on one and while it creaked it didn’t break. He took a deep breath and climbed up.


	16. 14 seconds later

John felt like he’d been used as a punching bag for gorillas. Every muscle hurt and throbbed. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a room with white walls. It was lit up, but where was the light coming from? He looked down at himself and gasped. He was glowing.

“What the hell?!” he exclaimed. A hand rested on his shoulder and he looked up. “Rose!”

Her skin had turned a dark grey. Most of her shirt had been ripped off and the black leggings she’d been wearing under her skirt were gone. She pointed behind him.

“Dave! Oh my god!” Dave was orange with wings. Rose had wrapped her clothes like bandages around his back. “Wait, where’s Jade?” John turned and saw her lying on the floor. “Jade! Are you okay?”

“Kinda,” Jade mumbled. She slowly and carefully sat up. Her skin was a dark grey like Rose’s, and John could see dark grey dog ears poking out of her hair.

“Oh god, what did they do to us?” he said.

“Gbld jduvbhnr iboel,” Rose said.

“What?” John asked.

“She can’t talk properly,” Jade said. Rose opened her mouth, revealing her swollen black tongue.

“Oh god,” John said. “Does it hurt?” Rose shook her head.

“I hate life,” Dave said.

“You’re awake!” John exclaimed. They all rushed over to him. Rose and Jade fiddled a bit and managed to get him down to the ground. Dave winced and looked over his shoulder at his wings.

“Crap. I’ve got wings, Rose and Jade have grey skin and John’s a glow worm.”

“I’m not a glow worm!” John exclaimed. Dave rolled his eyes.

“What’s going to happen to us?” Jade asked.

“I dunno,” John said.

“Yown iwobv,” Rose said.

“What?” Dave asked. Rose’s stomach growled. “Oh, you’re hungry?” She nodded.

“Me too,” Jade said, rubbing her stomach.

“Yeah,” John agreed. “How long have we been in here?”

“Hoelz gowz oivn,” Rose said.

“What?”

“Jade, do you know sign-language?” Dave asked.

“Um…a bit. Do you Rose?” Rose nodded and signed something to Jade. “We’ve been in here…some days?” Rose signed again. “She thinks. Not sure how many though.”

“Aw man!” John exclaimed. “What about Karkat and the others? They’ll get us out of here, won’t they?”

Before anyone could answer an alarm pierced the air. They all jumped and turned to the door. They could hear people running past and shouting.

“What’s going on?” John asked.

“I dunno,” Jade said.

Then the door flew open. Literally; it flew out of the doorframe and landed on the floor. Standing in the doorway was Aradia.

“Aradia!” Jade exclaimed. They all ran up to her and John was relieved to see the others behind her.

“Where’s Equius?” Dave asked. _Oh yeah, he’s not there._

“He’s with Jack and his goons creating a distraction,” Karkat said.

“Who?” John asked.

“No time for explanations! Let’s just get your asses out of here!”

They all took off running down the hallway. Vriska was carrying Tavros and three large dogs ran next to them. Whenever they ran into someone they immediately stopped and collapsed. Vriska was grinning the whole time, and John was pretty sure she was making them do that. It was a bit creepy.

“In here!” Karkat called. He was crouched next to a grate in the floor. He lifted it up and dropped down. Rose jumped after him. Then Jade, then Dave. John took a deep breath and jumped down.

He landed on cold stone floor. Dave pulled him back and a few seconds later Aradia came down. One after another they all came down. Tavros called to the three dogs and told them to leave the lab. Karkat started talking to someone on his phone as they all quickly made their way through the empty sewers.

Eventually they came to a ladder in the wall. Karkat led them all up it and into daylight. Equius was waiting with some adults. They quickly rushed them over to what looked like a bar that had been long out of business. John and his friends sat down on chairs and sighed with relief.

“That went surprisingly well,” Jade said.

“Well, we didn’t escape injury-free,” Kanaya said. John looked at them and noticed some of them had cuts and bruises.

“You guys gonna be okay?” he asked.

“We’ll be fine,” Kanaya said. “And we’re very sorry for what’s happened to you. It’s our fault you got caught up in this mess.”

John gulped and looked at them all.  _What are we gonna do? We can’t go outside like this! I guess I might be able to, but not them!_ Dave noticed John’s expression and patted his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, this’ll sort out somehow,” he said.

“So um, who are they?” Jade asked, pointing to the adults.

“New friends,” Karkat answered. He introduced them all, and John tried not to feel nervous as Jack stood there sharpening a knife.

“Okay, you assholes had better call your parents,” Jack said. “I’m cool with letting twelve shitheads sleep here, but there isn’t room for more.”

“I’ll call,” Jade said. “Karkat, can I borrow your phone?”

While Jade called their parents John leaned against the wall with Dave.

“What’s gonna happen to us Dave?” he asked.

“Don’t worry Egderp, it’ll work out somehow.”

“How do you know?”

“Cuz that’s how it works: life’s a bitch for awhile, then it suddenly turns around and picks you up off the ground and gives you a metaphorical lolly-pop.”

“A lolly-pop would be nice right now,” John admitted.

“Yeah. Let’s buy a huge bag once your dad and my bro get here.”

“Yeah.” John smiled and leaned against Dave’s shoulder. He was scared, but he knew everything would be okay as long as he was with his friends.


	17. 10 minutes later

John, Rose, Jade and Dave devoured the food that was given to them. It wasn’t very tasty, but to John it was like luxury. He was so hungry he didn’t think he could ever stop eating. But eventually he was full. He leaned back with a sigh and closed his eyes.

“Thanks,” he said.

“Yeah, whatever,” Jack grumbled. Karkat muttered something to him and he stopped glaring at John and his friends.

“When are they gonna get here?” John asked.

“They should be here soon,” Jade said. “I got the address for this place and it’s not too far away from our homes. Maybe a twelve minute drive?”

Then there was a knock at the door. John smiled and stood up, but Kanaya pushed him back into his chair. They all waited while Droog walked up to the door. He looked through the small flap in the door. He turned to the four kids.

“What do your parents look like?” he asked. “Is one of them some bitch with white hair dressed like a scientist?”

“Dowv’z gi wehbr,” Rose said.

“That’s Rose’s mom,” Jade translated. Droog nodded and opened the door.

BLAM! Everyone jumped up in surprise as Droog collapsed to one leg. The woman holding the gun grabbed his head and pointed the gun at it. She had white hair, but she wasn’t Rose’s mom.

“Let me guess,” Jack growled. “Wrong bitch?”

“Yeah,” Jade squeaked.

“Found ‘em!” the woman called. Behind her appeared the scientist lady who had experimented on John and his friends. He shivered when he saw her. Then a man walked up behind them.

He was huge. He towered over the doorway and was wider than it by a few feet. He was clearly very muscular and carried a large gun in his right hand. His left leg was made of metal, and John could see a gold tooth in his grinning mouth.

“Please step outside,” he said. “Now!”

Everyone looked to Karkat. He glanced at Jack, who nodded with a scowl. They all filed out of the bar. There were no other scientists around.

“You little shits,” the scientist lady snapped. “I can’t believe you managed to give us so much trouble! These experiments are for the good of humankind! You’re just too pathetic and near-sighted to see that!”

“Bullshit!” Karkat snapped. “You just wanna change humanity to suit your ideals!”

“Shut the hell up! You don’t talk to your superior like that! You’re just angry because you’re Unnecessary. Well too bad for you, the world’s not gonna hand everything to you on a silver platter!”

“Don’t you think we realize that already?!” Vriska screamed. “After everything you’ve done to us, you think we expect an easy life?! You’ve already ruined ours!”

“Mother, please,” Feferi begged. “Don’t do this, there has to be a way to settle this peacefully.”

“Shut up! You don’t have any idea how hard I’ve worked so that you weren’t deemed Unnecessary! I’ve put forth all my effort so that you grew up strong and healthy, just like we needed you to! You owe me you bitch!”

“No, you owe me bitch!”

BLAM! Everyone looked behind the three scientists to see…Rose’s mom?!

“Wehbr!” Rose exclaimed. John gasped as his dad, Jade’s grandpa and Dave’s bro all stepped out.

“You bitch,” Rose’s mom seethed. “I hoped I would find you again someday.” _Huh? Again? They’ve met before?_ “And you too English.”

“Yes, I’ve been looking forward to this too Roxy,” the man said. He looked at Jade’s grandpa and grinned. “Good to see you Jake. I was wondering when you would get the courage to fight me.”

“I’m not the one who ran away,” Jade’s grandpa said. He lifted up his gun. “You ran away after you killed Jane and Calliope. You’re the coward!”

“Don’t you call me a coward!”

“Jake’s not the only one here!” Dave’s bro snapped.

“And why are you standing against me? We used to be friends Dirk.”

“That was long ago. Now I’m gonna fucking kill you.”

“Big talk, but you’re still the lonely kid who always relied on others. You’ll never change Dirk.”

“Don’t you talk to him like that!” Rose’s mom screamed. “You bastard! You killed my girlfriend and my best friend and now you’ve hurt my daughter!”

“Actually, that was my wife here.” He gestured to the woman next to him. “She’s been a great help with my work. You should see some of the-”

“Enough,” John’s dad said. “You’re going to pay for your crimes.”

“Oh really?” English lifted up his gun and grinned. “Give me your best shot.”

And just like that, the battle started. English fired four quick shots at them. Dirk, Roxy and John’s dad dodged easily. Jake got shot in the shoulder. But that didn’t stop him from firing at English. Meanwhile English’s wife was in a fist-fight with John’s dad. Dirk and Jake went and attacked English while Roxy ran to help John’s dad.

Then Jack stabbed the woman holding Droog. And soon everyone else joined in. Feferi jumped on her mom and pinned her to the ground. Karkat and Vriska jumped at English and everyone else picked a random target. John fought his way through the crowd to his dad. By the time he reached him English and his wife were pinned against the ground with guns pointed at them.

“I would ask for your attention!” Everyone turned around and John’s eyes widened.

“Doctor Scratch!” Vriska hissed. “That bastard, where’d he come from?”

Doctor Scratch was bald and wearing a nice green suit. And he was holding Gamzee in a choke hold with a gun pointed at his head.

“Fuck! Let him go!” Karkat yelled.

“In due time,” Doctor Scratch said. “But first I request that you let them both go first.” He gestured to English and his wife. “As fast as you can.”

“Don’t!” Gamzee snapped. He glared at all of them. “Just shoot this motherfucker!”

“If they do that, they’ll kill you,” Doctor Scratch said. Which was true. He was holding Gamzee in front of his so that he completely shielded him.

“Shoot him anyway!” Gamzee yelled.

“No fucking way!” Karkat yelled back at him. “You asshole! We’re not killing you! We’re all gonna get out of this alive!”

“How’re you gonna keep me sane?!” All eleven Experiments flinched. “You can’t! So just fucking shoot me and kill this guy!”

“No! I-”

BLAM!

Doctor Scratch dropped Gamzee in surprise. But the bullet hadn’t gone through Gamzee and hit him. He was fine.

BLAM!

That time, Roxy didn’t miss.

John watched Karkat run to Gamzee. He was screaming and maybe crying a bit. At the same time John watched Jade’s grandpa shoot English, and Rose’s mom shot his wife. John felt numb and could hardly hear what was going on around him.  _Why has all this happened?! Everything used to be so normal! Why?!_

“John.” John’s dad placed his hand on his shoulder and smiled to him. “It’s over now. Don’t worry, everything will be okay.” John looked at Karkat. He was holding Gamzee and screaming.

“I hope so,” John said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end! Dum-dum-dum! Hope you liked it!


End file.
